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Greatest Hits of the
day: Rustem Pasha Mosque -
Eqyptian Spice Market - Dolmbache Palace - Metropolitan Café - Writing on the rooftop with a full
moon.
Still Not on the
Clock: I can’t sleep more than
five hours at a time so the tour to the Rustem Pasha Mosque is blurry. The
Mosque is smaller than and built before the famed Blue Mosque, the iconic
feature in any picture of Istanbul. Still, It’s a stunning introduction to
Islam. As in all Mosques, the names of the holy family are inscribed in tiles
around the interior. Hussein is the grandson of Mohammed and his namesake Barack Hussein Obama, was there and saw it too.
Caviar and Curry: The word “Exotic” comes to mind when describing
the Egyptian Spice Market in Istanbul. The guide told us all about why it is
called Egyptian, but I could not understand a word of it…He speaks five
languages. His French sounds convincing, but what do I know about French? If
you like color, you will love this place. Piles of exotic sweets, teas, spices,
henna, caviar and God-knows-what is here. It’s an explosion of the senses. Pat
let me buy a $30 natural sponge. Why? Have you ever showered with a natural
sponge? (Maybe not, at $30 a piece.) Well, vacations make you do impulsive
things. My shower later in the day was lovely! I plan to use it many years in
the future.
Boring Royalty: I am not impressed with the extravagances of
royalty, so the Dolmabache Palace was boring and opulent to me. I can’t help
but believe some of the money it took to fashion the largest chandelier on
earth could have gone to a better cause. Four and a half tons of crystal is a
lot of fancy glass. I wonder how many children had to go without a meal to
finance that big light? This palace was built in the mid 1800s when there was
still a sultan running things here. His wives had to live in the third story
with the kids and could not enter the main ceremonial halls. WTF?
Just Across the
Street: Right in front of our
Guest House is the Metopolitian Hostel. They have a relationship with a
restaurant of the same name down the street. At the top of the building is a
six-table restaurant that faces the Marmara sea and is like watching the City
lights of San Francisco from Treasure Island, except the shore across the water
here is much closer. Pat and I had a fantastic but expensive dinner at the
Hostel. I guess if I had to take food up five flights of very narrow and steep
stairs I would add a little on to the tab as well. It was the best meal we have
had in a few days in terms of flavor and the view was fantastic. It’s not like
an Athens rooftop bar with a stunning view of the Acropolis, but still very
lovely.
La Luna, La Bella
Luna: is bright and full, but
slightly obscured by the grape vines covering the awning above me. Fellow
tourists are wafting in and out of my peripheral vision as I write. Greetings
of “Hello” in various accents are shared and I keep looking across the bay
called the “Marmara” to the beautiful auburn colored lights that reflect long
shadows on the still waters. It’s cool but not cold. I can hear a call to
prayer in the distance as I decide if I should have one more glass of wine
before I retire. It is 11:30 pm
Istanbul time and 9:30 in the morning CA time…
